As we decided to send out the Plugin Newsletter every two weeks, you have now received the February 2003 B issue. We hope that it helps us to stay even more in touch with you and helps you to remain in closest touch with the plugin scene.

We are currently in the process of updating the content of our web site as well as its structure and several of its features. These updates will be carried out gradually during the next few months, so you will probably only notice slight changes. We hope that it will help to make The Plugin Site more attractive. A start was already made with the new Download Center and the new features of the Discussion Forums as you can read below.

We were very delighted to note that www.alexa.com has assigned a traffic rank to The Plugin Site that places it among the Top 3 of all plugin web sites. The Plugin Site is very close after the Extensis and AutoFX web sites and before AlienSkin, procreate and Flaming Pear as far as the web traffic is concerned. This ispurs our motivation to do our job even better and to even further improve the attractivity of The Plugin Site.

Sincerely, Harald Heim

www.thepluginsite.com

NEW DOWNLOAD CENTER ------------------------------------------------ We decided to remove all the 16 separate download forms and pages from the The Plugin Site and centralize the downloads. The place for downloading freeware and demo versions of all of our 16 products is now called "Download Center" and went online a few days ago.

So you only need to fill out one form to gain access to all of our downloads. After doing that, you will get a special link by email for accessing the Download Center. You will be able to use this link to access the Download Center as often as you like in future until further notice.

COLORWASHER 1.0c - SMALL UPDATE ------------------------------------------------ ColorWasher, our latest photo correction plugin, seems to be getting our most successful product. Many people were already convinced by ColorWasher's wide range of automatic, semi-automatic and manual tools for correcting, enhancing and restoring photos. They use ColorWasher to achieve precise photo corrections within seconds and decided not to waste their time with less effective tools.

A few days ago we released Version 1.0c of ColorWasher, which is a mini update with some bug fixes. Version 1.0c renders a bit faster and fixes a render bug that ocured at 100% preview zoom. Potential memory problems have been fixed and the HTML Manual has been extended and a PDF Version has been made available.

Grab the demo version of ColorWasher and see what it can do for your photos at http://thepluginsite.com/products/photowiz/

LATEST POLL RESULTS: Your Favorite Digital Photo Camera... ------------------------------------------------ With 320 new votes from the last two weeks (and a total of 820 votes) the ranking in the Digital Camera Poll has slightly changed. Here are the results:

The most striking change is that the Olympus C-xxxx Ultra Zoom moved from place 6 to place 3. I used an Olympus UltraZoom some time ago and I'm glad to see it among the Top 5. You can't do anything wrong if you buy one of the Top 5 cameras, as they are really the best ones. I'm currently using a Canon Powershot G2, which is great, but if I had to buy a new camera I would choose the Nikon Coolpix 5700.

For more poll results please visit http://thepluginsite.com/knowhow/

NEW POLL: Your Favorite Plugin Manufacturers ------------------------------------------------ Our latest poll asks you to vote for your favorite plugin manufacturer. We have cut down the selection to 49 items plus an "Other" option. You can vote for more than one manufacturer, so you don't have to decide which one you like best. But please vote only for a few ones to keep the poll result as clear as possible.

Please cast your vote at http://thepluginsite.com/

THE DISCUSSION FORUMS: New Rank System and Avatar Photo Upload ------------------------------------------------ The software of our discussion forms has been updated to the latest version to remove several potential problems. Now it is also possible for registered users of the board to upload their photo by clicking on the "Profile" link and using the "Upload Avatar..." features at the bottom.

Additionally a rank system has been added. That means all registered users are assigned to a special rank according to the number of messages they have posted to the Discussion Forums. Here's a list of all ranks plus the number of posts you need to reach it:

Telegraphics.com.au offers a new file format plugin, which lets you open icon (.ICO) files in your image application. It is available for Mac and Windows and includes the GPL source code. There is also a small example cross-platform filter called "12bits" which reduces images to 4096 colors.

http://www.telegraphics.com.au/sw/

FitsPlug (for Windows) is a Photoshop-compatible format plugin that offers support for FITS, a format originally defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and later adopted by the NASA to store and interchange astronomical data. FITS has become popular among amateur astronomers, because it is a convenient way of exchanging images between different applications and platforms.

http://astroshed.com/fitsplug/fitsplug.htm

Bob aka Gizmo asked us to host his Photoshop actions (for Windows/Macintosh) on The Plugin Site. They can help you to design your own CD labels, fronts and backs in Photoshop. Gizmo's CD Utilities include the following actions: CD Back (Template), CD Back, CD Front (Template), CD Front, CD Label (Template), CD Label, Background Opacity and Image Enhance.

http://thepluginsite.com/resources/gizmo/

HTMLDOC (Windows/UNIX/Linux) converts HTML files to PDF, PostScript and indexed HTML. It can generate a table-of-contents for books, indexed HTML files and on-the-fly for web applications. You can use the command- line for batch jobs or a GUI for interactive work. HTMLDOC is an easy-to-use and intuitive tool for creating a PDF document from html pages or a whole web site. Download the "FREE Windows version" and ignore the hint about limited functionality. I tested this version and it worked properly. However, you should save your settings before you generate the PDF file, because there may be occasional freezes. HTMLDOC is open source software, but they finance themselves with the help of support fees.

http://www.easysw.com/htmldoc/

Softimage|XSI EXP 3.0 (for Windows XP and 2000) is a non-commercial training version of Softimage|XSI, a 3D animation package. You can use it to learn the full XSI 3.0 toolset without a hassle. The only limitation of this version is a watermark on the rendered images. The pack contains six tutorials, providing instruction on everything from the interface to the integrated compositing capabilities.

http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/

GRAPHICS NEWS from www.Graphics.com ------------------------------------------------ Photos.com Increases Stock Photo Subscription Offering to 40,000 Images More is better, when it comes to a subscription service, and Photos.com recently doubled its offering of royalty-free photos. http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1484

CurveWorks Plugin for CorelDRAW 11 Want to add some CAD-like abilities to your copy of CorelDRAW? These macros may be just what you're after. http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1473

Sapphire releases Frames Super Bundle Sapphire offers 2000+ frames/border JPG effects in one super deal, including dotty/rough/blurred/paint/zigzag/contour frames and more. The frames are for frame plugins as well as Photoshop and other applications. http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1474

IconFactory Launches Pixelpalooza Icon Contest Create cool icons and win cool prizes, what could be more fun than that? http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1465

Adobe Launches "Work Smart Save Big" Promotion Snag a rebate with the purchase of two or more of Adobe's graphics and publishing applications. Includes upgrades and new purchases. http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1463